[CTC] Vilsack Promotes Trade Pact With Eye on Farm-State Republicans

[Mark Harrison]

Vilsack Promotes Trade Pact With Eye on Farm-State Republicans
By Ellyn Ferguson, CQ Roll Call


The just-completed Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement is a good deal for farmers, ranchers and agribusiness, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Tuesday as the Obama administration began making its case for the deal by focusing on an industry with ties to farm-state Republicans.
President Barack Obama<http://www.cq.com/person/7612> joined the courtship of agriculture with a visit Tuesday to the Agriculture Department, where he focused on what he sees as the benefits of TPP for agriculture and other segments of the U.S. economy. The farm-state Republicans may be crucial to getting the agreement through Congress.
"The bottom line is virtually every commodity group will see tariff eliminations and or reductions and or expanded preferential [market] access for American agricultural products," Vilsack told reporters in a conference call.
"It is key and critical for us to make sure that full and complete understandings of the benefits of this agreement are well understood and appreciated by those in Congress," he added. "If they are concerned about agriculture, they will see this is a net benefit for agriculture."
Vilsack said the agreement also contains provisions to protect against "other countries basically dumping products into the U.S."
North Carolina Sens. Richard M. Burr<http://www.cq.com/person/293> and Thom Tillis<http://www.cq.com/person/52953>, both Republicans, say they are angry about TPP language that prevents U.S. tobacco companies from using a private arbitration product to seek damages from TPP members because of their anti-smoking policies.
Burr, who voted for the fast-track authority that gave the president the parameters for negotiating TPP, said he would be ready "in a heartbeat" to vote against the trade agreement if the administration doesn't renegotiate the provision.
Vilsack said tobacco growers should focus on the elimination of tobacco tariffs in Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam rather than on public health issues. TPP recognizes that countries have the authority to set those policies just as the United States has done, he said.
Vilsack and the U.S. Trade Representative's Office offered a few details Tuesday on the 12-nation trade agreement, the text of which should be ready in 30 days:
*        The United States will be able to contest phytosanitary and sanitary rules on plant and animal diseases and pests if they appear to be trade barriers with no scientific or risk-based grounds.
*        U.S. dairy exporters will have the right to challenge the use of geographic indications for products in a TPP nation that could restrict sales.
*        Beef producers will see Japanese tariffs on their goods decrease from 38.5 percent to 9 percent  over the next 15 years.
*        Pork producers will see 80 percent of Japanese tariffs eliminated within 11 years.
*        Kentucky distillers will see tariffs as high as 55 percent reduced in TPP member nations.
*        American dairy producers will have greater access to Canada despite its supply management policies designed to protect domestic producers by limiting imports. Japan, which also has limited U.S. dairy imports, would reduce its cheese tariff by 40 percent.
"Over the course of the next 10 years between Canada and Japan, which are the two areas that we focused on  . . .  there's going to be additional access particularly in cheese, in whole milk powder, in skim milk powder, in fluid milk," Vilsack said, adding that he expected more exports of non-traditional dairy products such as yogurt to Canada.


Mark W. Harrison
Director, Peace with Justice Program
United Methodist General Board of Church and Society

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